Costa Rica's Cahuita National Park - Snorkeling and Hiking

Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica, is a small Caribbean beach village and the first major tourist destination south of Limon. It is reached by gravel road off the main highway, and though its main street is paved...



... all of its other streets are dirt and gravel.



Afro-Caribbean fishermen and laborers settled here in the mid-1800s, and today the population is still primarily English-speaking blacks whose culture and language set them apart from other regions. The boom going on in the country has missed this area.

A must visit is nearby Cahuita National Park, created in 1970, an ecological area of 2,600 land acres and 55 marine acres composed of forest and swamps. The protected marine area contains the Coralline Reefs as well as being a nesting ground for sea turtles. This is also one of the nicest and least developed beaches in Costa Rica.

The reef is known to have at least 35 species of coral, 140 species of mollusks, 44 species of crustaceans, and 123 species of fish. On land they have tamanduas, pacas, coatis, raccoons, sloths, agoutis, howler monkeys, and capuchins. The bird population includes the Ibis, Kingfisher, and Toucan.

We snorkeled the reef for over an hour and saw a number of fish...







...including this stingray.



...and this sea urchin...

Then we hiked the 2 miles back to Cahuita on the jungle trail, led by our naturalist guide, Pops. He found and pointed out numerous animals high in the tree tops or on bushes, and his Jamaican grandmother, who had been a medicine woman, had taught Pops her craft, and he had a story about many of the jungle plants we passed. He'd pick a specimen, crumble it up, have us smell or taste it, and inform us what ailment the plant would heal or what body part it would strengthen or clean out...



Here's one of several two-toed sloths Pops pointed out to us...



...and here's one of many howler monkeys we spotted in trees -- and yes, they do deserve that name and we did hear dozens of them howling throughout the jungle --

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After arriving back in Cahuita, our tour concluded with a delicious typical Costa Rican meal of fish and pinto (rice and beans) in a local restaurant. A wonderful day!

Here's a movie with camcorder footage of our snorkel and hike...